This gift was made by my mom, and it is a replica of a game that was uncovered by archeologists in mesopotamia. It is about 3,000 years old. She used a wood burner and she inlayed stones for the design on each square.

This is a gift that I made for Aleena, my sister-in-law. It is called an mbira, or karimba, or thumb piano. You pluck the metal things and it sounds like bells. I discovered this instrument in Africa and they made theirs with old umbrella stays. So I decided to make one myself.First I made a small box with wood and cut a hole in the center for a more vibrant sound. For the metal pieces I cut up an old lawn rake, then I screwed a metal bar across all of them. Then, I made the artwork around the hole with a wood burner. I really like how it turned out and I am thinking about making more in the future.

]]>Mon, 23 Dec 2013 19:16:02 GMThttp://afinebowlofcherries.weebly.com/1/post/2013/12/gingerbread-festivities.htmlEvery year my family goes to my grandmas around christmas and we make gingerbread houses. Usually we go in with good intentions of a beautiful house but towards the end we give up on making it look nice. So while my sister was putting a rocket ship and American flag on her roof, I was actually trying hard to make a decent gingerbread house. And when I was finished I realized that hers was way better than mine.

Here are some goggles that I made to protect your eyes while playing quidditch, fighting Voldemort, and cutting onions. And all the materials were basically free!Here's where I got everything:-The leather on the front came from a baseball. (I found no use for it since I never play baseball)-I used some gatorade lids for the eyepieces-And black rubber around the eyepiece is from a bicycle inner tube-The white leather was a scrap that I found in the bottom of my fabric drawer. -And I found most of the other things in a junk yard

Voldemort will no longer defeat us with a sharp stick in the eye!!

]]>Sat, 12 Oct 2013 19:06:03 GMThttp://afinebowlofcherries.weebly.com/1/post/2013/10/gourds-galore.htmlThe question of the day is: What in the heck do you do with gourds!?

So for those of you who planted gourds this year here is what you do:-Pick all of the good looking gourds, avoid the bruised and the frost bitten...-Place the gourds in a dry place, and preferably on a rack-Let them sit for six months!-Follow my blog and I will post a bunch of gourd crafts!

Anyone who didn't plant gourds this year is welcome to join me in my quest. I have dozens of these beauties in my garage right now that are up for grabs